Contribution increase: More than a quarter of the statutory health insurances are becoming more expensive

According to a report, more than a quarter of those with statutory health insurance will have to pay higher contributions in the new year.

19 out of 97 health insurers had increased the additional premium on January 1st, reported "Welt am Sonntag", citing an evaluation by the umbrella association of statutory health insurances (GKV).

This included nine of the eleven general local health insurance funds (AOK).

With these nine alone, almost 21 million people are insured. 

Only nine, much smaller company health insurance funds (BKK) had reduced the contribution at the turn of the year, the newspaper continued.

The most expensive of all statutory health insurances is now the nationwide BKK24 with a rate of 17.1 percent, the cheapest the BMW BKK with 14.9 percent.

Industry representatives fear that significant premium increases across the board could be necessary in the coming year.

"If politicians do not actively take countermeasures, there will be a contribution tsunami in 2023," said the CEO of DAK-Gesundheit, Andreas Storm, of the newspaper.

Each fund can set an additional contribution

The financial perspective of the statutory health insurance has "recently darkened", said the new chairwoman of the AOK Federal Association, Carola Reimann.

Looming billion holes in the years 2021 and 2022 could only have been filled by special government grants and the use of cash reserves.

In the case of statutory health insurances, the contribution is made up of the general contribution rate of 14.6 percent of gross income and an additional contribution.

Each cash register can determine this for itself.

Both parts of the contribution are paid half by the employer and half by the employee.

If the additional contribution is increased, the insured have a special right of termination.